As we continue sailing
westward across the vast Pacific, we are into our most relaxed days of the
cruise with few ports and many sea days:
5 sea days and then Easter Island, 4 days and then Tahiti, 2 days and
then American Samoa, and finally 4 days and Australia. This gives us a chance to back up and make a
few reflections on some other issues on shipboard. This is our least port intensive portion of
the entire cruise.
We have a table for six
at dinner which means there are two seats for another couple. In Buenos Aires, the first couple disembarked
and a wonderful couple, Bill and Candy Mellon from Newnan, Georgia, near
Atlanta joined us. As large as Atlanta
is, our cousins, Bonnie and Ross are the only people we know from there. We’ve enjoyed getting to know Bill and Candy
and are sorry that they will be disembarking in Sydney along with Pam. We found
that we have a lot of common opinions and have had some great discussions.
Not having commented on
our excellent cabin stewards since very early in the cruise, this is a good
time to inject developments there. We
had requested Sayuto (Say) who had been one of our stewards on the 2009 South
Pacific, Australia, and New Zealand Grand Voyage that we had met again on the
summer 2011 Voyage of the Vikings. He
had been assigned to the Amsterdam for the World Cruise and we had been told we
would have him, but instead we were assigned a new crew consisting of Evan and
DJ. We see Say fairly often but instead
he has assignments elsewhere on the ship.
We’ve thoroughly enjoyed both the excellent service and the personal
conversations with Evan and DJ. Evan is
a bit more reserved and is always totally accommodating and friendly. DJ is a bit of a jokester and makes his friendly
remarks with a twinkle in his eye. They
have learned that Pam taught English and one morning as they finished cleaning
our room as we returned from breakfast, DJ asked Pam when he should use the
word “had” and when he should say the phrase “have had”. A rather sophisticated distinction in English
word usage, don’t you think, for someone whose native language is not
English? We find that not only Evan and
DJ have excellent knowledge of infrequently used words in the English language,
but so do our dining stewards and other members of the crew.
Pam had told Evan and DJ
about her husband’s surgery and we’ve been impressed that they thought to
inquire several times as to how he’s doing!
We have mentioned our
dining steward, Yohat, who was an assistant steward on our 2009 voyage. It has been a great deal of fun connecting
with him again, this time as our outstanding dining steward. The 2009 dining steward, Herfan, is on board
too but we had assumed that since he was just married in December, he wouldn’t be
here for this voyage. Had we known, we would have requested either Herfan or
Yohat and let HAL make the decision for us.
A few days ago, we had lunch in the Main Dining Room and asked to be
seated in Herfan’s section. He told us
his good news that his wife is expecting a baby in September. We already sense his excitement in telling us
that news.
Having reported that our
itinerary had been revised as a result of the big storm in the far South
Pacific Ocean, it meant that something had to be omitted if we were to reach
Sydney on time. After careful thought
and consultation with Seattle (home office for HAL), it was determined that we
would have to miss most of the Chilean fjords (a disappointment as we have
visited the Alaskan, Norwegian, and New Zealand ones) and wanted to be able to
compare. We would also have to skip our brief stop in the island country of New
Caledonia. Our other ports would be
delayed by a day each and the sail by of the intriguing island of Mutiny on
the Bounty fame, would be left out as well.
We think of our New Lenox friends, Jim and Kathryn Pitcairn, and hoped
to tell them about our observations for the island that bears their name. Most residents of Pitcairn Island are descendants
of the mutineer of the “Bounty”, Fletcher Christian and we are told that
virtually all residents have one of three last names. Island population is exceedingly small and
dropping. It has no substantial economy
and depends on cruise ships stopping and residents rowing their longboats to
the ship, boarding, and selling their trinkets and handicrafts to ship
guests. This is not to be for us as the
Amsterdam sailed by on Tuesday evening about 9:30 PM about 40 miles from
Pitcairn Island.
The ship made an effort
to make Valentine’s Day a special day for those who had their significant other
on board, complete with an afternoon musical presentation, tea, Formal Night
with Valentine decorations, and a Hearts and Lovers Ball. On the next day, Al, Pam, Barb, and I decided
to attend the French Dinner in the Pinnacle Restaurant. The day was undoubtedly selected as we
arrived the next day, February 16, in Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia.
French
Polynesia is made up of several island groups including the Marquesas, the
Society Islands (of which Tahiti is a part), and the Austral Islands. It has a population of about 250,000 people
of which most live on Tahiti with the capital and largest city, Papeete. They have been under French governmental
authority although now French Polynesians elect their own government. Some within French Polynesia like having the
association with France, which just recently completed the construction of a
large $450 million (US) hospital in Papeete, while others would prefer the
direction of independence from France. Barb
liked the fact that signs are in French and people speak the language so it
gave her an opportunity to use her French skills. She had a short conversation with our tour
bus operator in French and she was pleased she understood what he told
her. Our next French speaking port won’t
be until Corsica near the end of the cruise.
Surprisingly, Papeete
was the first place that we had visited more than once since leaving O’Hare Airport
46 days earlier, on New Year’s Day! We
had really enjoyed our French Polynesian ports on our 2009 South Pacific
cruise. We were looking forward not just to putting our feet on land for only
the second time since February 5, but also walk off the ship in a port rather
than tendering. We also liked the feeling the summer warmth that we had left
behind once in Antarctica and Patagonia.
We’ve been away long enough now that we tend to forget that Chicago has
to contend with several more weeks of winter despite the fact that it looks,
from our vantage point, that it is a less severe winter than the last several. We’re glad for that - at least.our family and
friends back home aren’t experiencing too harsh a winter.
Like Barb and me, Al has
been to Tahiti once before too, so he opted not to do a shore excursion. However since it’s Pam’s first time to
experience any of the legendary South Pacific islands, we decided to do a shore
excursion with her. Having done some of
the sights of the interior of Tahiti by four wheel drive on our previous visit
in October 2009, we decided to do a tour called Tahiti’s Natural Treasures, a bus tour mostly around the perimeter
of the island Tahiti Nui. (Tahiti looks like two islands joined together with
one larger island, Tahiti Nui, and a smaller one, Tahiti Iti). For once we
gambled right and picked the side of the bus which gave us the view of the sea
on our side! Tahiti, like the other
islands of the South Pacific, was formed by volcanic activity millennia ago so
in addition to the seascapes, there are mountains on the islands as well. (It reminds me of the lady on our 2009 South
Pacific cruise who whined about having to stop at so many ports in the South
Pacific. I’m guessing there are quite a
few who have never been fortunate enough to visit the South Pacific islands
that would find visiting these islands less than painful! The lady complained that the islands are just
like Florida. I had been so tempted to
tell her that I guess I had missed the Florida mountains which give the South
Pacific islands much of their allure, along with beautiful beaches, seascapes,
and pleasant temperatures!)
As we boarded the bus,
we inquired as to which side was best for viewing and the guide gave the stock
reply that both sides were excellent. So
Pam sat on one side and we sat on the other but as it turned out, Barb and I
had the shore on the entire tour around the island (and we found out later that
one of the other buses had gone the reverse route). Pam commented that she was pleased with the magnificent
mountain scenery. As we sat on the bus
ready to depart, it suddenly occurred to me that I had neglected to bring my
camera bag which I carry on my belt!
Fortunately I had my ship card which scans me on and off the ship, my
other picture ID as well as my camcorder and digital camera. Too late to go back for it, and I figured Pam
and Barb would be taking plenty of pictures if my camera batteries died!
Our guide Jeff was one
of the best we have had. His parents
were born in Tahiti and the Cook Islands.
They sent him to New Zealand to study English and he speaks it with a
New Zealand accent. His primary job is
in guest relations at the Papeete Radisson Hotel, and he serves as tour guide
when the opportunity is present. Our
first stop was at a black sand beach, for which Tahiti is noted, where we had
excellent views of one of our favorite South Pacific islands, Moorea, as well
as mountains and one of Tahiti’s premier spots for surfing. Jeff commented that the seas were rather calm
so there were few surfers in the waters when we were there. From there we visited the Vaipahi Gardens
with it beautiful trees, flowers, waterfall, and lily pads. A short distance from there, we made a stop
at the Paul Gauguin
Museum Restaurant for short snack break and another fine view of island
scenery.
Following the break, we
made a short turn toward the interior of the island, past tropical trees and
foliage that brushed the bus. At the
stop there, we took a brief walk through the dense trees and along a rushing
stream to the largest of three impressive waterfalls. The two smaller falls were farther inland and
would have required much more hiking than the tour time allotted. But the falls we saw were dramatic with the
water plunging several hundred feet to the stream below. With the breezes, the
spray gave us a cool shower as we came closer. It was a picturesque sight and
well worth the short walk. The walk,
while shorter and with no wildlife, reminded me of our walk to the waterfalls
on a shore excursion on Tasmania in 2009.
Our final stop for the day took is to the Arahoho Blowhole, similar to
ones we have seen in Hawaii and more recently in Acadia National Park near Bar
Harbor, Maine.
Barb and I concluded
that while we had enjoyed our four wheel drive adventure to the interior of
Tahiti in 2009, we had enjoyed this shore excursion even more and it gave is a
greater appreciation of the beauty of Tahiti.
After returning to the ship, we had a quick lunch and then went back out
immediately to check out the large Marché du Papeete (market) just a couple
short blocks from the ship. Prices in
French Polynesia are notoriously high with something as simple as a
refrigerator magnet costing about $12 US!
I considered a few items but came away with absolutely nothing,
justifying my non-purchases by concluding that I had done some shopping there
in 2009. We had split up and wandered
the market and some of the other shops in Papeete independently and went back
to the ship when we chose. Barb and Pam
returned before the predicted rains hit.
I was starting to return when they came pouring down. I figured I would wait under a pharmacy
canopy until the tropical shower passed but realized that was not going to be
any time soon, so when there was a slight letup, I raced closer and took refuge
in the Tahiti Visitors’ Center (closer to the ship) and then made my mad dash
from there back to the ship. Fortunately
it was a warm rain so no harm done.
Now it is on to American
Samoa which we visited less than three weeks after their disastrous tsunami in
September 2009. It will be interesting
to observe the changes since they were just in their initial cleanup mode when
we visited last time. In Pago Pago, the
CEO of Holland America, Stein Kruse will board and will reside temporarily on
our deck. Our friends, Tony and Julie Kaculis
whom we met on the 2009 cruise will enjoy knowing that Stein Kruse will be
residing in “their” stateroom while he is on board. It should be some fascinating days on board
the Amsterdam!
CT
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